Ten Grammatical MiniUnits on Syntax Syntax is sentence

Ten Grammatical Mini-Units on Syntax! Syntax is sentence structure -- the way a writer arranges words in a sentence. By the end of our units, you will: 1. Use the basic forms of syntax and the four basic sentence types to enrich your writing. 2. Learn the hardest rules of punctuation to help make you a confident writer and a competent editor. 1

Our overall big question: How can learning syntax improve my writing? Our strategy: The hardest punctuation rules in the English language become easy as you become masters at identifying phrases and clauses. Your writing grows richer as you master manipulating phrases and clauses. This slide presentation should be worked through with (1) your sentence structure packet, (2) your online exercises, (3) the Interactive Grammar Summary (“IGS”), (4) your journal writing, and other material I may give you. 2

Unit 1 - Nouns, Nominals, Pronouns, Subjects, and Verbs The unit’s big questions: How do I identify what role a targeted word plays in a sentence? How can I make clear thesis statements by using lists of words with the same role? 3

Write this down in your journal’s lab section: “____ is my favorite pastime. ” Your job is to write a list of words or word groups that could fit in the blank. Each word or word group must describe only one thing. No more than two adjectives per blank, please! One word or word group must have exactly 2 letters. (Spaces don’t count. ) Another must have exactly 5 or 8 letters. A third must have exactly 20, 30, or 50 letters. Fiction is fine! Work in your groups of 2 or 4.

What is a noun? A naming word. It names a person, place, thing, or abstract concept. What are the nouns in the following sentence? Patriots fought the British for liberty. Circle all of the nouns on packet page 5, sentences 1 - 4. What is a nominal? A word or group of words that acts as a noun. What acts as a noun in the following sentence? Swimming is my favorite sport. 5

When is a door not a door? When it’s ajar! When is a verb not a verb? When it’s a jar. . . und! A gerund! 6

Swimming is my favorite sport. “Swimming” in the above sentence looks like a verb, but it acts like a noun. Used this way, “swimming” is a gerund. A gerund is a word made from a verb that functions as a noun. What acts as a noun in the following sentence? Learning to fly would be a great birthday present. Because “learning to fly” starts with a gerund, it’s called a gerund phrase. A gerund phrase, as you might expect, is a phrase that acts like a noun and that starts with a gerund. Circle all of the gerunds and gerund phrases on page 5, sentences 5 through 8. Circle all of the gerunds and gerund phrases you wrote in the blank today in “_______ is my favorite pastime. ” 7

Besides a gerund, what other word substitutes for a noun? A pronoun. What are the pronouns in the following sentence? They fought them for it. Circle all of the pronouns on page 5, sentences 9 & 10. What is a subject? How is it different from a noun? A subject is the noun or nominal that does the action in a sentence. Which of the nouns in the following sentence is the subject? Patriots fought the British for liberty. Double-circle the subjects on page 5, sentences 1 - 8. 8

What is a verb? A verb describes the action in a sentence and forms the main part of the sentence’s predicate. What are the verbs in the following sentences? He leaves tomorrow on the first train. The quick, brown fox jumped over the lazy dogs. Put rectangles around the verbs on page 5, sentences 1 - 10. 9

Sometimes, when we talk about our school’s gyms, we have to distinguish between the two. How do we do that? “To get to the lockers, walk down the hall between the auxiliary gym and the main gym, ” Julie instructed. Sometimes we have to distinguish between verbs, too. “When we speak in the future tense, the auxiliary verb helps out the main verb, ” Julie instructed. Julie will instruct us more tomorrow. “Will” is the auxiliary verb, and “instruct” is the main verb. Does anybody remember the other name for auxiliary verbs? Julie hinted at it. Auxiliary verbs are also called “helping verbs. ” 10

Some common auxiliary verbs are is, was, will be, have, has been, will be, will have been. They differ depending on the tense. (Tense shows the time of the verb’s action. ) For instance: She was flying earlier today. She is flying now. She will be flying tomorrow. She has flown before. She has been flying for hours. She had been flying before you got there. She will have been flying when you get there. Turn to packet page 5. Put diamonds around the auxiliary verbs in sentences 1 through 10. (Some sentences won’t have auxiliary verbs. ) 11

Pick a sentence in your journal and rewrite it to add or change an auxiliary verb. Then describe what it does to the time the action takes place. By the way, though auxiliary verbs may be called helping verbs, they have a different function from linking verbs. Auxiliary verbs help main verbs. But linking verbs link nominals with other nominals or with adjectives: Paul is president. He is happy. Linking verbs use some of the same words as auxiliary verbs, like “is. ” Where’s the auxiliary verb in this sentence? Paul is working. 12

Turn to packet page 5. Circle the auxiliary verbs and put a rectangle around the linking verbs in sentences 11 through 14. 13

Complete the writing practice worksheet for Unit 1. In your journal, write the unit’s big question: How do I identify what role a targeted word plays in a sentence? Write a journal entry (1) addressing this question and (2) discussing how the unit can help your writing, and (3) describing what you’re still unclear on and what you’d like to learn more about. This ends unit 1. 14